Resources for Voters

EAC maintains the National Mail Voter Registration Form, which voters can use to register to vote and update their registration information. The form is available in seven languages.

EAC also provides voter guides in 11 languages and a variety of links to helpful resources for voters relating to registration, military and overseas voting, accessibility, and volunteering as a poll worker.

Voting System Testing and Certification

HAVA mandates that EAC accredit voting system test laboratories and certify voting equipment, marking the first time the federal government has offered these services to the states.

EAC is committed to running the program in a transparent manner, releasing voting system test plans and reports for the public to review and posting detailed information about the voluntary voting system guidelines, program policies, and related correspondence.

Election Management Resources

One of EAC's top priorities is providing assistance to election officials. We do this by issuing guidance, advisories and best practices to help officials comply with the Help America Vote Act and make other election administration improvements and enhancements.

Payments and Grants

EAC administers federal funding to improve the administration of U.S. elections as authorized by the Help America Vote Act. The commission also manages discretionary, competitive grant programs authorized by HAVA, including the HAVA College Program to recruit college students to serve as poll workers and the HAVA Mock Election Program, which supports activities to educate secondary students in the electoral process.

Research

EAC is responsible under the Help America Vote Act for collecting information about election administration issues and sharing that information with Congress, election officials and the public.

This section contains completed research and reports commissioned by EAC, information about EAC research in progress, and additional elections research issued by other organizations. Datasets are also available to download.

National Voter Registration Act

Voters can use the National Mail Voter Registration Form to register to vote, update registration information due to a change of name, make a change of address, or register with a political party.

The National Form also contains voter registration rules and regulations for each state and territory. For more information about registering to vote, contact your state election office. Read our Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the national form.

2004-2012: View All Five Election Cycle Reports Below

About Our Election Data

EAC administers the biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), an instrument used to collect state-by-state data on the administration of federal elections. The EAVS reports include datasets on the ability of civilian, military and overseas citizens to successfully cast a ballot. They contain the most comprehensive, nationwide data about election administration in the United States. The EAVS data is used for two federally mandated reports – the NVRA Report (motor voter) and the UOCAVA Report (military & overseas citizens).

The survey asks states for the number of registered voters at the state and county levels. EAC does not request voting age population (VAP) or citizen voting age population (CVAP) data at the county level. The Census Bureau estimates VAP and CVAP. The EAC’s NVRA report shows only state level figures for the number of registered voters; the publicly available datasets include county level registration figures. The state-level VAP and CVAP information that appears in the NVRA report comes from the Census Bureau.

Readers and users of the 2004 and 2006 EAC Election Day Survey data are strongly encouraged to contact each state directly regarding clarification and verification of that state's data. In 2010 EAC adopted Information Quality Guidelines and the Election Administration and Voting Survey data policy in which each state's chief election official is asked to sign a document certifying the data that the state is reporting to EAC in the Election Administration and Voting Survey. Read more about the policies and procedures that guide EAC's survey in A Guide to the Election Administration and Voting Survey and view the survey instrument. Scroll down to view reports from recent federal elections.

2012 Election Administration and Voting Survey

The 2012 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) instrument is divided into two parts. The first part captures quantitative data pertaining to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), and other election administration issues such as the counting of provisional ballots and poll worker recruitment. The second part is the Statutory Overview, which asks states a series of open-ended questions about their election laws, definitions, and procedures. This information helps the EAC and other stakeholders to understand the data provided in the first part of the survey, thereby providing a fuller picture of the landscape of U.S. election administration. The results from this data collection effort were the basis for a series of reports to the public and Congress throughout 2013.

(Maryland Notation: Question A(5)(b) asks for the number of registrations that were invalid or rejected. Maryland reported that Worcester County had 1,039 invalid or rejected registrations. Maryland has corrected the number to report that Worcester County actually had 5 invalid or rejected registrations.)

2010 Election Administration and Voting Survey and Data Sets

The 2010 Election Administration and Voting Survey instrument is divided into two parts. The first part captures quantitative data pertaining to the National Voter Registration Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and other election administration issues such as the counting of provisional ballots and poll worker recruitment. The second part is the Statutory Overview, which asks states a series of open-ended questions about their election laws, definitions, and procedures. This information will help the EAC and other stakeholders to understand the data provided in the first part of the survey, thereby providing a fuller picture of the landscape of U.S. election administration. The results from this data collection was the basis for a series of reports to the public and Congress throughout 2011.

2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey and Data Sets

The 2008 Election Administration and Voting Survey instrument is divided into two sections. Section A (the quantitative portion) captures information pertaining to the National Voter Registration Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and other election administration issues such as the casting and counting of provisional ballots and poll worker recruitment. Section B is the Statutory Overview, which asks states a series of questions about their states laws, definitions, and procedures. This information will help the EAC and other stakeholders to understand the information provided in Section A, thereby providing a fuller picture of the landscape of U.S. election administration. The results from this data collection was the basis for a series of reports to the public and Congress throughout 2009.

2006 Election Administration and Voting Survey and Data Sets

December 2007

EAC’s 2006 Election Administration and Voting Survey was distributed to election administrators in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. EAC combined the three required surveys – the 2006 Election Day Survey, the 2005-2006 National Voter Registration Act Survey and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act Survey – into one comprehensive data collection instrument. The findings were published in December 2007.

2004 Election Administration and Voting Survey and Data Sets

In fall of 2004, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) distributed the first-ever Election Day Survey, requesting voting and elections information from election officials throughout the nation. The survey was made up of three separate surveys: the 2004 Election Day Survey, the 2003-2004 National Voter Registration Act Survey and the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act Survey. The findings were published in September 2006.